Picked up my new 9'0 Hokua yesterday and against the advice of the Osteo that repositioned my ribs this week, I decided to take it for a test paddle.

At 6'2" and 85kg. I was really worried it wouldn't float me and as I paddled out on my knees it was tipping all over which had me even more worried.

The conditions were marginal at best, but I was able to get to my feet and after a few spills found the sweet spot. On the wave it's a great, stable and smooth ride and I know I am going to have lots of fun on this board.

Having demoed the 9'0 Mana last weekend, the 15lt difference is really obvious and part of me wishes I'd chosen the Mana but I knew stepping down to the 9'0 Hokua from my 9'5" Mana (190lt) was going to be a big ask, so I can't expect it to all click into place in one short session.

If you want pure wave performance the Hokua is a good choice, if you want something with wave performance and the volume to keep you comfortably floating around between sets, then the Mana is probably the better choice.

As I said the conditions were marginal, as was my fitness, so I'll need a few weeks to get a real feel for it.

One thing that was a problem was getting it in the board bag. The new Naish bags have fin slots that are positioned incorrectly so it's impossible to zip up the bag with the fins on. It's a bit of a pain to have to take the fins off after every session. Nothing a Stanley knife and some gaffer tape won't fix though.

What a great looking surfboard .........I have had the 9'6" Hokua now for only 7 mths and is my 4th board (favorite so far ).......all my boards changing in dimensions to more surfy turny boards ........was not looking to get another one ......but when I saw the new 9' I could see some awesome fine tuning having been done here and I have to have it .....just looks sooo good.....so I wouldn't think it'll take me long to make the transition from the 9 6
I'm bout 82kg so after reading what's said bout the board from 92kg riders I reckon this will be perfect............it is just soooo cool to have the feedback from riders here who have had the Hokua 9 6 as well and now really rate this new stick.
Thanks for posting those pictures Swannie ........awesome............Appreciate that .....after having the new 9' Hokua can you see youself keeping the 9' 6". ??

JBee said...

What a great looking surfboard .........I have had the 9'6" Hokua now for only 7 mths and is my 4th board (favorite so far ).......all my boards changing in dimensions to more surfy turny boards ........was not looking to get another one ......but when I saw the new 9' I could see some awesome fine tuning having been done here and I have to have it .....just looks sooo good.....so I wouldn't think it'll take me long to make the transition from the 9 6
I'm bout 82kg so after reading what's said bout the board from 92kg riders I reckon this will be perfect............it is just soooo cool to have the feedback from riders here who have had the Hokua 9 6 as well and now really rate this new stick.
Thanks for posting those pictures Swannie ........awesome............Appreciate that .....after having the new 9' Hokua can you see youself keeping the 9' 6". ??

The 9'6" Hokua will probably always be in my quiver. It is a great board and even though it hasn't been wet since I got the new one it will come out on the windy summer arvos. Plus the wife likes it.

A mate got the new 9' Mana and he surfed it this morning. It also is another great board for those chasing more perfomance.

Enjoy

Just taken delivery of my 9.0 Hokua. Coming off a 9.3 hokua 2010 model, which was on loan to me whilst waiting, and also using a 9.1 starry wave pro, mal style shape.

Surfed it today in bumpy/choppy, 1 M plus conditions.

Very surprised at the stabilty, love it, much better that 9.3. But I am only 63kg, so maybe a bit different for you big units out there. Great paddler, nice and easy to paddle out.

Love the speed, love the rocker, looks less rocker than the old model but just scoots down a face no worries. Seems much less twitchy than the 9.3 model. Very stable at speed. Very confidence inspiring, which will no doubt get me in trouble soon.

Yeah, love it, best of all is that handle hole , yee ha! Sheer genius that handle hole, and its very very light, has someone weighed theirs?,Concave deck - nice works for me, your feet feel like they are hangin onto the board better in some strange way. Surfer girls, go git one !

Oh, yeah, didnt fit in the bag, fin slots dont line up, **** happens, the good man at Ocean addicts gave me a more suitable bag for my lovely new toy.

I've had my 9.0 a couple of weeks now and still haven't got it on the water yet.. It seems that even though I paddle every day I choose the half hour drive for a flat water paddle or down-winder.. So today I did the one and a half hour drive to the surf even though I knew the tide was wrong and the waves were small.. I just wanted to paddle it and see how it floated my 90 kgs (200lbs).

I stepped on in knee deep water.. it tipped.. and continued to tip and I stepped off before I fell off.. I did this twice because I've spent so much time on my big DW boards it took a little getting used to but on the third try I was off paddling.

It was pretty flat water with a light breeze and small wind chop and I had a 300 mtr/yrd paddle out to the point where there were only knee high waves.. I was soon feeling pretty comfee paddling and even though most of the rear of the board seemed under water at times I had no problem balancing and it floated me fine.

When I got to the waves they were breaking on 6" of water with a rock bottom so I didn't hang around or catch any waves.. So.. Sorry still no performance review other than it floats me and I have no problem paddling it.. Choppy conditions might be another story but today it was fine.. and didn't fall in once.

I took a few pics before I hit the water and got it wet for the first time.. Let's hope I get it into some real waves soon.. It's such a nice looking board.

The last pic is Robby on the new 9.0 Hokura and he's on a good size wave.

DJ

DavidJohn said...

I've had my 9.0 a couple of weeks now and still haven't got it on the water yet.. It seems that even though I paddle every day I choose the half hour drive for a flat water paddle or down-winder.. So today I did the one and a half hour drive to the surf even though I knew the tide was wrong and the waves were small.. I just wanted to paddle it and see how it floated my 90 kgs (200lbs).
DJ

I am lighter then you know DJ and loving this board. Getting ready for Christmas is a regular thing for me in November. Down to 87KG.

Paddling it or my 14' everyday.

After a few weeks now I think this board has it all for surfing. It responds like no other beautifully even for us now light species.

I put MRTX sides in my mctavish and now psh, And they make a world of difference.

Does make the board a little stiff, But more back foot pressure will fix that

Still keen to hear the comparison to the wide ripper vs this 9'0 hokua

Hi Erik,

I was lucky enough to get about 45 minutes on the 9' on Saturday (thanks to Windsurfnsnow) as I wanted to see if it would be stable enough for me. I presently have the Hokua 9'6" and have used my mates 9'3" many times. I would say that my skill level is at the upper end of intermediate and I weigh approximately 90kgs.

In my opinion the 9' is more stable than the 9'3" and I think this comes from (in part) the reduced height of the deck. It feels like you're standing very low which increases stability. The wind was ok but there was some chop - it was about 5 knots onshore. I don't think I fell of except for when going for waves - I would have fallen in more on the 9'3".

On the wave, it is amazing - super fast, pumpable, loose but with loads of drive. I made reos that would have ended in a fall on the 9'6". I also like the fact that you don't have to move your feet - just set them and go. Paddling out was also ok as the narrower nose helped get through the whitewater.

When I went back to the 9'6" I couldn't believe how stiff it felt through the turns.

I now have my own 9' Hokua in the garage - it only took a day to get it